CommercialCafe, Yardi Matrix’s commercial real estate blog, put together an expert roundup featuring industrial real estate experts across the country. Lori Roth, Ashley Capital’s Senior Managing Director, provided her expertise and insights for several inquiries in the roundup. The discussion for this particular CRE roundup covered a range of industrial topics, including: real estate’s expansion during the last year, types of tenants occupying industrial warehouse spaces, and challenges facing the industry.
Industrial construction projects in the U.S. are projected to eclipse 342 million square feet in 2021 – the highest in five years. What are the main drivers of this expansion?
“E-commerce is the primary driver in this industrial expansion. While online shopping had been growing for years, the pandemic was the accelerator in 2020 as people were forced to alter how they purchase. Retailers, particularly discount retail chains, need the big box warehouse space for inventory and last mile distribution centers to get the product to the consumer quickly. A secondary driver was the growth in manufacturing as the global supply chain disruption had companies re-evaluate the geographic footprint of their production. Companies had no choice but to bring manufacturing back on shore.”
– Lori Roth, Ashley Capital
Read the Full Industrial Real Estate Expert Roundup